#appalternatives — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #appalternatives, aggregated by home.social.
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The Register: Poland directs officials to ditch Signal in favor of ‘secure’ state-developed alternative. “The Polish government is urging public officials and ‘entities within the National Cybersecurity System’ to stop using Signal, directing them to instead use an encrypted messenger developed by a leading Polish research organization.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/05/22/the-register-poland-directs-officials-to-ditch-signal-in-favor-of-secure-state-developed-alternative/ -
The Register: Poland directs officials to ditch Signal in favor of ‘secure’ state-developed alternative. “The Polish government is urging public officials and ‘entities within the National Cybersecurity System’ to stop using Signal, directing them to instead use an encrypted messenger developed by a leading Polish research organization.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/05/22/the-register-poland-directs-officials-to-ditch-signal-in-favor-of-secure-state-developed-alternative/ -
The Register: Poland directs officials to ditch Signal in favor of ‘secure’ state-developed alternative. “The Polish government is urging public officials and ‘entities within the National Cybersecurity System’ to stop using Signal, directing them to instead use an encrypted messenger developed by a leading Polish research organization.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/05/22/the-register-poland-directs-officials-to-ditch-signal-in-favor-of-secure-state-developed-alternative/ -
The Register: Poland directs officials to ditch Signal in favor of ‘secure’ state-developed alternative. “The Polish government is urging public officials and ‘entities within the National Cybersecurity System’ to stop using Signal, directing them to instead use an encrypted messenger developed by a leading Polish research organization.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/05/22/the-register-poland-directs-officials-to-ditch-signal-in-favor-of-secure-state-developed-alternative/ -
The Register: Poland directs officials to ditch Signal in favor of ‘secure’ state-developed alternative. “The Polish government is urging public officials and ‘entities within the National Cybersecurity System’ to stop using Signal, directing them to instead use an encrypted messenger developed by a leading Polish research organization.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/05/22/the-register-poland-directs-officials-to-ditch-signal-in-favor-of-secure-state-developed-alternative/ -
MakeUseOf: I replaced Lightroom with this free app and I only miss it a little. “So if you’re tired of spending hundreds of dollars, at the very least, to be able to edit a few photos, you’re using the wrong program. There’s a photo-editing app so good that it can easily replace Lightroom, and you give up only one thing in return.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/27/makeuseof-i-replaced-lightroom-with-this-free-app-and-i-only-miss-it-a-little/ -
MakeUseOf: I stopped using LM Studio once I found this open-source alternative. “The alternative that eventually ended up replacing LM Studio for me is Jan. It’s a desktop application that lets you run LLMs fully offline — much like LM Studio, but not only is it completely free, it’s also open-source, with all the source code being available on GitHub. There are no licensing surprises, no […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/21/makeuseof-i-stopped-using-lm-studio-once-i-found-this-open-source-alternative/ -
How-To Geek: I replaced Google Keep with this free open-source app (and never looked back). “Keep is one of Google’s better products. It has a great UI, and you can capture notes with just one tap. Despite using it for years, however, I have wanted an alternative. So why bother replacing it? I can give you two reasons and a free, open-source app that does what Keep can’t.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/29/how-to-geek-i-replaced-google-keep-with-this-free-open-source-app-and-never-looked-back/ -
MakeUseOf: I found a browser-based creative suite and it being open-source is only part of the appeal. “I have a love-hate relationship with creative software. The tools that are good enough to rely on professionally can cost a small fortune, and the free alternatives come with their own learning curve and drawbacks. That said, the fact that open-source alternatives for Adobe programs exist […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/26/makeuseof-i-found-a-browser-based-creative-suite-and-it-being-open-source-is-only-part-of-the-appeal/ -
MakeUseOf: 7 creative tools that are completely free (and professionals actually use). “When you need some capable design suites, development tools, and editing software, it’s easy to assume that serious work requires some serious spending. Many beginners and enthusiasts end up spending hundreds of dollars, without even knowing that even professionals rely on completely free tools for their […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/06/makeuseof-7-creative-tools-that-are-completely-free-and-professionals-actually-use/ -
TechSpot: Discord’s age-check crackdown is already pushing users elsewhere. “In the week following Discord’s announcement, public sentiment turned sharply against the policy. Search interest in ‘Discord alternatives’ surged by roughly 10,000% in the US, eclipsing typical volume from the past month. Queries for ‘Delete Discord’ doubled in the same period, signaling that the company’s privacy […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/16/techspot-discords-age-check-crackdown-is-already-pushing-users-elsewhere/ -
MakeUseOf: This free app does what Photoshop does for most people. “If you are like me, you probably pay for Photoshop but only use between 40 and 50 percent of its features. It’s a powerful tool, but if it’s not the center of your professional life, the price tag may not justify how much you are actually getting out of it. So, I went on the hunt for a Photoshop alternative that would not […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/15/makeuseof-this-free-app-does-what-photoshop-does-for-most-people/ -
ZDNet: I tried a Claude Code alternative that’s local, open source, and completely free – how it works. “This is the first of three articles that will discuss the integration of Goose (the agent framework), Ollama (an LLM server), and Qwen3-coder (the LLM). In this article, I’ll show you how to get everything working. In the next article, I’ll give you a more in-depth understanding of the roles […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/03/zdnet-i-tried-a-claude-code-alternative-thats-local-open-source-and-completely-free-how-it-works/ -
Tubefilter: UpScrolled wants to be a more open version of TikTok. Can it sustain its current momentum?. “The app hit #1 on the U.S. download charts while taking its user base above one million. Only a few weeks prior, UpScrolled had been sitting at about 40,000 users. The sudden increase in activity has been big enough to temporarily take down UpScrolled’s servers, though the app has pledged […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/02/tubefilter-upscrolled-wants-to-be-a-more-open-version-of-tiktok-can-it-sustain-its-current-momentum/ -
Android Authority: Here are 5 privacy-focused alternatives to popular Google apps. “Google has a vast array of apps available, and I don’t want to make this post too long by listing an alternative for every single one of them. Instead, I’ll focus on alternatives to five popular Google apps most people are familiar with and serve as the perfect starting point for those trying to move away […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/02/01/android-authority-here-are-5-privacy-focused-alternatives-to-popular-google-apps/ -
Mashable: TikTok users flock to UpScrolled in response to new U.S. owners. “TikTok competitor UpScrolled has surged up Apple’s App Store rankings after users began turning to the new platform en masse. According to social media sentiment, many are on the hunt for alternatives to TikTok after new U.S. owners were officially instated this week, with expected algorithm changes raising questions […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/01/31/mashable-tiktok-users-flock-to-upscrolled-in-response-to-new-u-s-owners/ -
MakeUseOf: I rebuilt my Windows setup using only free open-source apps. “I decided to rebuild my Windows setup using only free open-source apps. The goal wasn’t simply to find Microsoft 365 alternatives. I was building a different system and trying to break free from the Microsoft ecosystem to whatever extent possible, while still using Windows 11.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/01/23/makeuseof-i-rebuilt-my-windows-setup-using-only-free-open-source-apps/ -
Lifehacker: Microsoft Is Finally Retiring Its Free Scanner App (but There Are Alternatives). “Keen observers have known about this since August, when Microsoft first announced that Lens would be retired in September and removed from app stores in November. That obviously didn’t happen, as the company adjusted the deadline to Dec. 15, which also came and went. Microsoft kicked the retirement can […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/01/15/lifehacker-microsoft-is-finally-retiring-its-free-scanner-app-but-there-are-alternatives/ -
Lifehacker: Microsoft Is Finally Retiring Its Free Scanner App (but There Are Alternatives). “Keen observers have known about this since August, when Microsoft first announced that Lens would be retired in September and removed from app stores in November. That obviously didn’t happen, as the company adjusted the deadline to Dec. 15, which also came and went. Microsoft kicked the retirement can […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/01/15/lifehacker-microsoft-is-finally-retiring-its-free-scanner-app-but-there-are-alternatives/ -
Lifehacker: Microsoft Is Finally Retiring Its Free Scanner App (but There Are Alternatives). “Keen observers have known about this since August, when Microsoft first announced that Lens would be retired in September and removed from app stores in November. That obviously didn’t happen, as the company adjusted the deadline to Dec. 15, which also came and went. Microsoft kicked the retirement can […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/01/15/lifehacker-microsoft-is-finally-retiring-its-free-scanner-app-but-there-are-alternatives/ -
Lifehacker: Microsoft Is Finally Retiring Its Free Scanner App (but There Are Alternatives). “Keen observers have known about this since August, when Microsoft first announced that Lens would be retired in September and removed from app stores in November. That obviously didn’t happen, as the company adjusted the deadline to Dec. 15, which also came and went. Microsoft kicked the retirement can […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2026/01/15/lifehacker-microsoft-is-finally-retiring-its-free-scanner-app-but-there-are-alternatives/ -
MakeUseOf: I tested 5 major Google Maps alternatives — this is the one I’m keeping. “Over several months, I relied entirely on five popular navigation apps—Sygic, Magic Earth, OsmAnd, HERE WeGo, and Waze [Waze?] —for everything from urban navigation to foreign city breaks and far-flung motorcycle trips off the beaten track. After plenty of traffic jams, reroutes, and signal drops, some […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/12/26/makeuseof-i-tested-5-major-google-maps-alternatives-this-is-the-one-im-keeping/ -
MakeUseOf: I use this free open-source app to track everywhere I’ve been — without giving Google a thing. “[Dawarich] is an open-source tool that replicates the features I enjoyed in Google Timeline while giving me full control over where my data lives. I can run it on my own computer, on a small home server, or in a private cloud environment. There are no ads and no hidden data collection. […]
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MakeUseOf: I never expected an open-source app to beat IFTTT and Zapier — but this one did. “I’ve used more automation platforms than the average person — IFTTT (If This Then That), Zapier, Make, n8n — plus a few obscure ones that never went past beta. What every one of them did was box me into templates. This throttled my workflow and failed to show the real strength of premium tiers. I […]
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MakeUseOf: I never expected an open-source app to beat IFTTT and Zapier — but this one did. “I’ve used more automation platforms than the average person — IFTTT (If This Then That), Zapier, Make, n8n — plus a few obscure ones that never went past beta. What every one of them did was box me into templates. This throttled my workflow and failed to show the real strength of premium tiers. I […]
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MakeUseOf: I never expected an open-source app to beat IFTTT and Zapier — but this one did. “I’ve used more automation platforms than the average person — IFTTT (If This Then That), Zapier, Make, n8n — plus a few obscure ones that never went past beta. What every one of them did was box me into templates. This throttled my workflow and failed to show the real strength of premium tiers. I […]
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MakeUseOf: I never expected an open-source app to beat IFTTT and Zapier — but this one did. “I’ve used more automation platforms than the average person — IFTTT (If This Then That), Zapier, Make, n8n — plus a few obscure ones that never went past beta. What every one of them did was box me into templates. This throttled my workflow and failed to show the real strength of premium tiers. I […]
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How-To Geek: I replaced Mathematica with this free and open-source alternative. “Mathematica is well-known for its ability to solve all kinds of math and science problems. It’s also notoriously expensive and closed-source. What if there was an open-source program for Linux that let you explore math for free? There is, and it’s called SageMath.”
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How-To Geek: I replaced Mathematica with this free and open-source alternative. “Mathematica is well-known for its ability to solve all kinds of math and science problems. It’s also notoriously expensive and closed-source. What if there was an open-source program for Linux that let you explore math for free? There is, and it’s called SageMath.”
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How-To Geek: I replaced Mathematica with this free and open-source alternative. “Mathematica is well-known for its ability to solve all kinds of math and science problems. It’s also notoriously expensive and closed-source. What if there was an open-source program for Linux that let you explore math for free? There is, and it’s called SageMath.”
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MakeUseOf: I replaced Google Keep for my whole family with a free and open-source alternative. “My cousins and I, along with a neighbor, started using Google Keep to coordinate our weekly gaming sessions and movie nights. … But as weeks went on, the app just didn’t feel adequate for the type of note collaboration my group needed. Google Keep was good for personal use, but it just felt a bit […]
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MakeUseOf: I replaced Google Keep for my whole family with a free and open-source alternative. “My cousins and I, along with a neighbor, started using Google Keep to coordinate our weekly gaming sessions and movie nights. … But as weeks went on, the app just didn’t feel adequate for the type of note collaboration my group needed. Google Keep was good for personal use, but it just felt a bit […]
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MakeUseOf: I replaced Google Keep for my whole family with a free and open-source alternative. “My cousins and I, along with a neighbor, started using Google Keep to coordinate our weekly gaming sessions and movie nights. … But as weeks went on, the app just didn’t feel adequate for the type of note collaboration my group needed. Google Keep was good for personal use, but it just felt a bit […]
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How-To Geek: Self-Hosted Google Photos Alternative Immich Just Got an Update. “Immich, the self-hosted alternative to Google Photos and other media cloud storage services, just released a big update. Immich version 1.140 has a new read-only mode, a way to add missing GPS data to many photos at once, and some other helpful improvements.”
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Android Authority: Here We Go is the non-Google map app I didn’t know I needed. “I went looking for a navigation app that respected me as a user. It had to be simple, and didn’t require me to sign in with a Google account. That search led me to Here We Go, a map app from Europe that has a lot of what Google Maps offers but without all the drawbacks. So I gave it a test drive.”
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The Register: FydeOS offers ChromeOS without the Google strings attached . “Fyde Innovations’ FydeOS is a rebuild of ChromiumOS with a difference. In fact, with several differences, some of which may make it appealing to Google skeptics. Broadly speaking, FydeOS can turn any PC or laptop into a Chromebook, complete with Android apps, and it can use a free Fyde account in place of a Google […]
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For a given value of useful, from Lifehacker: 16 Games You Should Play If You Like Wordle. “Fortunately, the years since Wordle’s appearance have blessed us with dozens of other guessing games that borrowed one or more of Wordle’s features—five-letter solutions, or yellow and green squares, or sometimes just the concept of guessing and getting hints to narrow down the possibilities. Here […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/08/14/lifehacker-16-games-you-should-play-if-you-like-wordle/
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Mashable: Pocket is shutting down. Here are the read-later app alternatives.. “Pocket may be saying goodbye, but plenty of bookmarking and read-later platforms are still alive and kicking. If you’re looking for a read-later service like Pocket, Instapaper and Readwise are two popular options.” Also Raindrop, which I use and heartily recommend. I have no financial relationship with them except […]
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Found a nice aggregated list of non-US services to switch to.
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Lifehacker: Kanri Is a Free, Offline Alternative to Trello. “If you like the Kanban method but have grown tired of using bloated, online-only tools, Kanri is a free open-source alternative you can install on Linux, macOS, and Windows that works entirely offline. It even supports importing from Trello.”
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/19/lifehacker-kanri-is-a-free-offline-alternative-to-trello/
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ZDNet: 6 obscure browsers that are better than Chrome. These are actual somewhat obscure browsers, too. I was really afraid this was going to be stuff like Vivaldi. “Knowing how many web browsers are available, it never ceases to amaze me that some languish in the shadows of obscurity — even those that are superior to the ones most people use. I believe that many of those alternative […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/11/zdnet-6-obscure-browsers-that-are-better-than-chrome/
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MakeUseOf: I Tried 5 Google Chrome Bookmark Alternatives, and This Is My New Favorite. “Google Bookmarks shut down in 2021, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other options. I’ve tried different Google Bookmark alternatives and found a new favorite you will also love.” +1 for Raindrop.
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Engadget: Flashes, an Instagram alternative based on Bluesky, is available for iPhones now. “Anyone looking for an alternative to Instagram might have a suitable candidate in Flashes, a recently launched app built on Bluesky that seems to get all the important basics right. Flashes technically launched on the App Store on February 24, but a series of updates released in the days after launch […]
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Engadget: Flashes, an Instagram alternative based on Bluesky, is available for iPhones now. “Anyone looking for an alternative to Instagram might have a suitable candidate in Flashes, a recently launched app built on Bluesky that seems to get all the important basics right. Flashes technically launched on the App Store on February 24, but a series of updates released in the days after launch […]
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Engadget: Flashes, an Instagram alternative based on Bluesky, is available for iPhones now. “Anyone looking for an alternative to Instagram might have a suitable candidate in Flashes, a recently launched app built on Bluesky that seems to get all the important basics right. Flashes technically launched on the App Store on February 24, but a series of updates released in the days after launch […]
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Engadget: Flashes, an Instagram alternative based on Bluesky, is available for iPhones now. “Anyone looking for an alternative to Instagram might have a suitable candidate in Flashes, a recently launched app built on Bluesky that seems to get all the important basics right. Flashes technically launched on the App Store on February 24, but a series of updates released in the days after launch […]
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Engadget: Flashes, an Instagram alternative based on Bluesky, is available for iPhones now. “Anyone looking for an alternative to Instagram might have a suitable candidate in Flashes, a recently launched app built on Bluesky that seems to get all the important basics right. Flashes technically launched on the App Store on February 24, but a series of updates released in the days after launch […]
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Lifehacker: The Five Best Video Call Apps to Replace Skype. “The goal (and challenge) of choosing a video calling platform is to convince other people to join you. The last thing you want is to pick an app that no one uses, then force everyone in your circle to adopt that choice. The less friction, the better. That’s why platforms that work with people’s existing accounts and platforms are […]
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/03/lifehacker-the-five-best-video-call-apps-to-replace-skype/
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Associated Press: A possible TikTok ban is just days away. A list of similar apps available. “TikTok has more than 170 million users in the U.S., and if it does get banned, it’s not clear which competitors will benefit the most. Some experts think established social media platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, could see the biggest influx of users. But some users are looking for something […]